Out in my parts there aren't any oil jobs. But my wife got laid off in January due to employer getting hit by a law suit that messed stuff up, so I can really sympathize with the 'Having the summer off has been nice but no $$ coming in isn't fun.' part (I mean, I'm still working, but what she made certainly made a difference in our lifestyle)

__________________Criticism is so often nothing more than the eye garrulously denouncing the shape of the peephole that gives access to hidden treasure.

"...My b'f works directly with the drilling rigs in AB and SK and has not been on a job of his own since Feb. It sucks! Having the summer off has been nice but no $$ coming in isn't fun."

You mean there's no work because the price of oil (crude) is too low, right? That is, increased production targets overseas in order to intentionally undercut domestic (North American) prices, so as to dissuade further or sustained investment in oil-sands development?

Yes the price of oil is too low. Last year it was over $100/barrel and right now it's around $60. Oil companies around here are holding off drilling if they can. Lots of people without jobs right now. In a city of 30,000 just 1 bank has 30 trucks being repo'd. That's just 1 of the 10 banks These banks are working with oil patch workers so they don't lose their houses. Things are ugly for so many right now.

So not only the crappy oil prices our loonie has taken another dive. This is not good. I have already noticed the prices going up in the grocery stores. Soon we are not going to be able to afford to eat fresh fruits and veggies that are shipped up here. OMG! I can't believe the prices of stuff. $6.00 for a head of broccoli...$10+ for asparagus... nope...wont pay it. I do find Costco is still decent on veggies but fruit not so much. The price of meat is getting crazy also but I am lucky and live close to 2 butchers and they are still great prices $4.00 for a pound of burger is great!!

Has anyone else noticed it?
With many many people laid off around here and more lay offs ahead it is going to be a scary year.

I hope it will be a happy new year for you -- sounds like it is starting off looking pretty rough out in your parts.

Yah, veggie prices are terrible right now. A lot of our veggies at this time of year normally come from California, but they planted less this year due to water shortages and then they had a frost that killed off a lot of plants. So prices are pretty insane, and that means that even the things not from there are more expensive as everyone looks for alternatives and drives up the price on those.

Hopefully the southern hemisphere stuff will be coming in soon, and will have a good crop. The low loonie will still make them pricier than normal, but not having shortage pricing would be nice!

__________________Criticism is so often nothing more than the eye garrulously denouncing the shape of the peephole that gives access to hidden treasure.

The company I work for is also the manufacturer of the goods we distribute. A lot of our raw materials come from the U.S. So even though sales through 2015 aren't bad, and can still be considered good, the company is taking a big hit anyways. It's trickling down to every aspect of day to day operations. Belt-tightening is the order of the day.

Thankfully no layoffs for us yet, but a lot of white knuckling about 2016...

When the price of oil was going up, almost everybody was complaining about its negative impact to the economy. Now it is going down everybody is complaining also.

There are pluses and minuses both ways -- but being human we tend to pay more attention to the minuses!

I just hope that it is a good crop year for farmers in most parts of Canada this year. A good crop to sell, and a low Canadian dollar? Could be a lot of happy farmers, which would be nice at least.

But it is going to be a rough stretch in Alberta in particular

The problem is that while the low dollar is in theory good for our manufacturers, there just isn't so much manufacturing left to get the benefit from it

It does probably make things easier for my company, because we raise venture capital in $US, and 80% of our payroll is in $Can (and payroll is our largest expense). And if we can get products selling again, whatever our net margin is will look better after the conversion from $US to $Can.

__________________Criticism is so often nothing more than the eye garrulously denouncing the shape of the peephole that gives access to hidden treasure.